lockvslolWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lock is a verb, lol is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lock” is a verb and “lol” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,345
“lock” frequency rank
#3,266
“lol” frequency rank
24611
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lock lol
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs locken Kürzel, das ausdrückt, dass man laut lacht beziehungsweise etwas sehr lustig findet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lock and lol apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lock
3 ch
lol

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

lock and lol form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lock is recorded at frequency rank #21,345, classified as averb, pronounced [lɔk]. lol is at rank #3,266, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [lɔl].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 24611, this pair ranks #1,845,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

lock#21,345
lol#3,266

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lock" and "lol" be used interchangeably?
No, "lock" and "lol" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering lock vs lol

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lock”; for an abbrev, it's “lol”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lock” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list